


Priority Check

by infiniteviking



Category: Tron (Movies), Tron: Legacy (2010)
Genre: Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-30
Updated: 2011-05-30
Packaged: 2017-11-16 08:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/537279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infiniteviking/pseuds/infiniteviking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tron wants to fight gridbugs, but Ram won't let him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Priority Check

**Author's Note:**

> This flashfic was written for kittydesade as part of a fic meme (of which I have nearly alllll the other fics still to complete, augh). The prompt was for Tron and overprotective!Ram.

"No," said Ram.

To Tron, it was almost as if the actuarial program had suddenly materialized in his path. He stopped just short of bumping into him. "Excuse me?" he said, his voice rising incredulously.

"No," repeated Ram, completely serious. "You're not going out there."

Tron's mouth hung open for a moment as he tried to format a response. This couldn't really be happening. Ram had been his ally long before Users had rerezzed him and upgraded him for the Grid, unfailingly loyal even after learning what had passed in his absence, always a bright counterpoint to the security program's never-ending responsibilities. Such a flat contradiction from him was completely out of character.

There was no time to sort it out now. Tron shook his head and said wearily, "Ram. Stand aside."

But Ram didn't. His jaw was set, stubborn in a way he usually reserved for disc practice and particularly difficult calculations, and he barred the way with one arm and braced the other against the wall in a silent promise that it would be difficult to shift him.

Tron, his circuits dim with fatigue, fought to keep from leaning against the wall himself. He wasn't in much better condition than Ram was at the moment, but that couldn't matter. Flynn would be coming back through in half a millicycle and the gridbugs they'd barely escaped before were clustered across the whole sector, vicious, adaptable, stronger than any Tron had ever seen. To shelter here while the User walked into a mess like this was unacceptable.

"He'll be fine," said Ram, sounding as though he really believed it. "The other Users will be with him."

Tron pulled in a breath, the words breaking out before he'd thought them through. "How can you be sure? The gridbugs have never been this bad. They'll overwhelm him, Ram; I have to clear the way." His voice was rising again. To wait here would be failing Flynn, failing the Users and friends he could still barely believe he had.

His thoughts scattered as Ram set a hand flat on his armor, next to the four blue-white squares that had always been a sign of his identity. There was impatience in the younger program's voice -- or was it fierce concern?

"He'd tell you the same thing. They'll all be okay, unless something happens to _you_."

Tron wanted to deny it. He was supposed to be the strong one, to take all the heat, to stand between his charges and anything that might do them harm. More than his directive, it had become his calling. He wanted to tell himself that Ram would be fine here, with the entrance too small for the bugs to get through, and that all that mattered was keeping him safe, keeping Flynn safe, doing his duty no matter what the cost to himself. But he couldn't look into Ram's eyes and pretend it wouldn't matter if he didn't come back.

"Don't make me run the numbers, Tron," said Ram wryly, crooking a thumb over his shoulder at the infested canyon. "It doesn't take an actuarial program to calculate that."

Tron let out a tired chuckle. "Ram, are you telling me how to do my job?"

"No. I'm just telling you to get some rest."

Stubborn, faithful, _literal_ actuarial program. What would the Grid do without him?

Tron nodded finally, resting his hand on Ram's shoulder in a brief gesture of acknowledgment, and turned to settle a few feet away with his back against the wall. A quarter millicycle would bring back some of his strength. It'd leave little time to clear the canyon, but if -- _if_ Flynn and whoever he brought in was up to fighting with them, they'd have more than an even chance.

The last thing he saw before cycling down was Ram settling into one of the meditative stances Flynn had taught them, his disc ready in hand, glancing back with smile that told him he'd be safe until he woke.  
_____


End file.
